CHAPTER 19 Waste Management Transforming New Yorks Fresh

CHAPTER 19 Waste Management

Transforming New York’s Fresh Kills Landfill • Fresh Kills, on New York’s _______ Island, is the largest landfill in the world. • It closed in __(year)____, forcing New York City to find other places for its trash, at great expense to taxpayers. • Today the landfill is in the process of becoming a _____ park. Talk About It Which should play a greater role in reducing the waste we generate—personal choices by consumers or government regulation?

Lesson 19. 1 Municipal and Industrial Waste Of all the solid waste produced in the United States, _____% is made up of paper.

Lesson 19. 1 Municipal and Industrial Waste What Is Waste? • Any _____ material or substance that results from a human activity or process Did You Know? The average American generates more than 4. 5 pounds of trash per day. • ______ solid waste: From homes and businesses • ______ waste: Resulting from manufacturing, agriculture, and mining • _______ waste: Toxic, reactive, flammable, and corrosive • Wastewater: Includes used, discarded water and runoff

Lesson 19. 1 Municipal and Industrial Waste Methods of Solid Waste Disposal: ______ Landfills • Waste _______ in the ground or carefully ______ into mounds • Designed to ______ groundwater contamination and minimize soil and air pollution Did You Know? Regulations require that landfills be at least 6 m above the water table.

Lesson 19. 1 Municipal and Industrial Waste Benefits and Costs of Landfills Benefits _____________, which can be used like natural gas. When full, landfills are capped. The land can be __________. Costs Leachate may eventually ____ and ______ the groundwater. Trash _______ very slowly. Few communities are willing to host landfills (NIMBY). A power company in Hull, Massachusetts installed a large wind turbine on a site that had previously been a landfill.

Lesson 19. 1 Municipal and Industrial Waste This process is called ______.

Lesson 19. 1 Municipal and Industrial Waste Benefits and Cost of Incineration Benefits Incinerating waste reduces its weight by _____ and volume by _____. Costs ______ must be disposed of. Heat from burning trash can be used to Dioxins, heavy metals, and generate electricity (________). PCBs can be created and released by burning waste. Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator The only U. S. facility permitted to burn certain hazardous wastes

Lesson 19. 2 Minimizing Solid Waste In 2007, Americans recycled or composted nearly 1/3 of municipal solid waste, saving energy equivalent to 10 billion gallons of gas.

Lesson 19. 2 Minimizing Solid Waste Reduction Methods • Substitute disposable goods with reusable ones. • _____ unwanted items. • Minimize packaging. • Reduce use of nonbiodegradable plastic. • Design goods to last. • Use financial _____ such as “pay as you throw” garbage disposal and “bottle bills. ” Did You Know? States with “bottle bills” (consumers receive a refund per returned bottle or can) have reduced their beverage container litter by 69– 84% and total litter by 30– 64%.

Lesson 19. 2 Minimizing Solid Waste Recovery: ______ • ______ of organic waste into mulch or humus by decomposition • Currently 3800 municipal programs in the U. S. • Has many benefits, including soil enrichment Did You Know? About 20% of U. S. waste is made up of organic material that could be composted.

Lesson 19. 2 Minimizing Solid Waste Recovery: _______ • _______ and _______of waste materials • Recycling rates among U. S. communities vary from 5 to 50%. • Many programs run at a financial loss, but that doesn’t take into account the effects of not recycling.

Lesson 19. 3 Hazardous Waste Common sources of hazardous waste include batteries, cleaning agents, paints, and pesticides.

Lesson 19. 3 Hazardous Waste What Is Hazardous Waste? • ______: Can catch fire • ______: Can damage or destroy metals • ______: Chemically unstable; can explode or produce fumes when combined with water • ______: Harmful or fatal when inhaled, ingested, or touched

Lesson 19. 3 Hazardous Waste Sources of Hazardous Waste • ____ produces the most hazardous waste, but it is usually highly regulated. • _____ hazardous waste is unregulated. Did You Know? The average American home contains about 100 pounds of hazardous waste in different products.

Lesson 19. 3 Hazardous Waste Types of Hazardous Waste • _________: Can act as mutagens, carcinogens, teratogens, and endocrine disruptors • _______: Many cause neurological damage over time. • ____: Contains heavy metals and toxic chemicals, but mostly treated as conventional solid waste Did You Know? U. S. households threw out about 304 million electronic devices in 2005—most were still in working order.

Lesson 19. 3 Hazardous Waste Disposal • Landfills: Specifically designed to keep hazardous waste contained • Surface impoundment: Liquid waste poured into shallow lined pits; water evaporates and solid waste is transported elsewhere • Deep-well injection (see diagram on right): Wastes injected into deep, confined porous rock layers

Lesson 19. 3 Hazardous Waste Radioactive Waste • Waste that gives off harmful radiation • _______: Less harmful; produced by hospitals, labs, uranium mines • _______: More harmful; produced by nuclear power plants • Difficult to dispose of safely due to long half-lives Did You Know? As of March 2010, the Obama administration has ruled out Yucca Mountain for long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste.

Lesson 19. 3 Hazardous Waste Regulation • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (______): Sets standards for hazardous waste management by states; requires industry to track hazardous material “cradle to grave” • Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (_____), or “Superfund” Act: Federal program for cleaning up sites polluted by hazardous waste; culprits held liable for damage caused by their pollution Did You Know? As of 2007, 1354 of the 1569 Superfund sites have been cleaned up.